The Promise

Title: THE PROMISE

Authors: Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

Publisher: Revell

September 2013

ISBN: 978-0800721497

Genre: Contemporary

One home, two hearts, and the power of a promise kept . . .

For the last five months, Tom Anderson has been without a job, a fact he's been hiding from his wife Jean--and everyone else. He leaves each morning, pretending nothing has changed, and spends his disheartening day rotating through coffee shops and the library, using their wifi to search job listings online. The stress of keeping this secret is beginning to put serious strain on his marriage.

But Tom's not the only one hiding something. Jean Anderson has a secret of her own--one that will seriously complicate their situation. Will the promises they made on their wedding day hold firm?

THE PROMISE is book two in this Smalley/Walsh series The Restoration. I enjoy reading Mr. Walsh’s books, and THE PROMISE is a good read, but as with The Dance, the authors keep us distant, and it feels told and forced at times. It doesn’t flow smoothly and I didn’t connect with the characters.

There is some good marital advice in this book, some of which parroted the advice in the first book, The Dance, such as for wives, “Don’t be a doormat. If something bothers you, speak up.” Other advice didn’t parrot. If you like fiction that teaches a valuable lesson and isn’t as tedious as reading nonfiction, then The Dance and THE PROMISE is for you. $14.99. 304 pages.